Linguistic Development of Children with Williams Syndrome: A Control Study (original) (raw)
Related papers
Psycholinguistic abilities of children with Williams syndrome
Research in Developmental Disabilities, 2012
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.
Language abilities in Williams syndrome: A critical review
2007
Abstract Williams syndrome is a rare genetic disorder in which, it is claimed, language abilities are relatively strong despite mild to moderate mental retardation. Such claims have, in turn, been interpreted as evidence either for modular preservation of language or for atypical constraints on cognitive development.
Perspectives on Language Learning and Education, 2011
Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by heart disease, failure to thrive, hearing loss, intellectual or learning disability, speech and language delay, gregariousness, and non-social anxiety. The WS psycholinguistic profile is complex, including relative strengths in concrete vocabulary, phonological processing, and verbal short-term memory and relative weaknesses in relational/conceptual language, reading comprehension, and pragmatics. Many children evidence difficulties with finiteness marking and complex grammatical constructions. Speech-language intervention, support, and advocacy are crucial.
Cognitive, Lexical and Morpho-Syntactic Profiles of Israeli Children with Williams Syndrome
Cortex, 2003
This paper investigated the cognitive, lexical and morpho-syntactic profiles of schoolage Israeli children with confirmed diagnosis of Williams syndrome (WS). Children with retardation of unknown etiologies were individually matched to the children with WS. The findings suggest a cognitive profile that was similar to the profile reported for Englishspeaking children with WS, whose unique features were seen mainly in the discrepancy between verbal IQ and performance IQ and in relatively preserved face recognition abilities (Frangiskakis et al., 1996; Mervis et al., 1999). Contrary to previous findings, cognitive, lexical and morpho-syntactic profiles of individual children were rather similar, confirming the findings that were based on matched-pairs comparisons.
Neurocase, 2003
Although phonological processing is generally considered to be a proficiency in Williams syndrome (WS), there are very few studies which have extensively explored phonological processing abilities in WS. In this study, we reassessed phonological processing in WS by exploring verbal STM and phonological awareness abilities in 4 children with WS (CA: 10-12 years) and two control groups, one matched for chronological age (CA) and the other matched for verbal mental age (VA). Our results confirm and extend previous claims of preserved phonological STM in WS by showing specifically preserved STM performance for non-words, compared to both VA and CA control groups. However, we observed that this was the case only for non-words where support of phonological and lexico-semantic knowledge was minimized, with reduced phonological and lexico-semantic effects on STM performance. Furthermore, a more direct assessment of phonological processing abilities through phonological awareness tasks showed impaired performance for the 4 WS children. Our data confirm that STM for non-words represents a real strength in WS but they do not support previous assumptions of a more general preservation of phonological processing abilities in WS. Implications for impaired and preserved cognitive processes underlying verbal STM and phonological awareness abilities in WS are discussed.
Language and Conversational Abilities in Williams Syndrome: How Good is Good?
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 2001
Grammatical performance of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) has been reported as being unimpaired, despite their comparatively low IQ and poor general cognitive ability. Specific language impairment (SLI) is often seen as the converse of WS, showing poor linguistic ability relative to level of cognitive functioning. Detailed profiles of language functioning in four children with WS and four with SLI are presented which show a much less clear-cut picture than is often portrayed and suggest that children with WS may be less linguistically able than is commonly reported. A comparison of results on standardised tests with performance in real conversations shows that not only the children with SLI but also those with WS have significant linguistic difficulties. This has clear implications for their management by speech and language therapists.
Late phonological development in Williams syndrome
Frontiers in Psychology
Williams syndrome is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder characterized by a unique phenotype, including mild to moderate intellectual disability and an uneven neuropsychological profile of relative strengths and weaknesses. Language structure components (i.e., phonology, morphosyntax, and vocabulary) have been considered an area of specific ability compared to pragmatic language use. However, research on phonological development in Williams syndrome is very scarce, and it suggests atypical patterns. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the profiles of late phonological development in Spanish-speaking children, adolescents, and adults with Williams syndrome, based on the analysis of five classes of processes (Syllable Structure, Substitution, Omission, Assimilation, and Addition) in spontaneous speech. The phonological profiles of seven children (aged 3–8 years), and seven adolescents and young adults (aged 14–25 years) with Williams syndrome were compared with tw...